The Necromancer’s Tale is a narrative-driven, top-down RPG developed by Psychic Software that invites players into the 18th century, casting them in the role of a European minor noble. After seizing a mysterious spellbook, you will get to embark on a journey of dark magic and revenge through an alternate-history Kingdom near Venice and the Adriatic Sea.
This is a time on the cusp of rational thought and superstition, where science clashes with magic. The world is dark and dangerous—courtly intrigue collides with black magic, even as chemistry emerges from alchemy. Will you retain your sanity, or lose yourself to the dark rites? The outcome depends entirely on your choices.
Recently, a demo version of The Necromancer’s Tale became available on Steam, offering the first few hours of gameplay and an early glimpse of the plot. As promised by the developers, the game begins with character creation through an interactive novel. By selecting actions in specific scenes and fine-tuning biographical details, players can shape their character’s backstory and traits to their liking.
The narrative and prose style captivate from the first lines as the story unfolds. Players literally write the book of their journey, deciding what happens in the next paragraphs. What makes it even more engaging is the unpredictability—you can’t fully foresee how your choices will affect your character’s traits in the end. While major events, such as specialization choices, remain intuitive, there are moments where the player’s perception of the story subtly influences their character. Whether you choose carelessly or pay close attention to the plot, analyzing it to make deliberate decisions, these very traits will shape your creation.
What’s most noteworthy isn’t just the strong narrative in this early stage of the game—it’s also the exceptional voice acting. The narrator delivers your character’s story like a dark, immersive bedtime tale, skillfully mimicking NPC voices and shifting intonations to match the tone of each event. This, combined with the beautifully illustrated key scenes, creates a uniquely atmospheric experience.
Based on the demo’s content, the story appears deceptively simple yet deeply personal. The Necromancer’s Tale lives up to its name, chronicling a minor noble’s ascent into the dark arts through hardship and morally fraught choices. The central conflict—a past war with a lich—unfolds offscreen, and the protagonist begins their journey long after, haunted by the revelation that their family suffered a terrible loss.
The developers of The Necromancer’s Tale likely drew inspiration from many games—and among them, Disco Elysium seems to linger like a ghost. Echoes of the legendary RPG appear in subtle details: the UI design, the introspective narrative style, even the deliberate attempt to craft a distinct visual identity. It’s a lofty—and perhaps premature—comparison, given how raw the game still feels in its current state. Yet the influence is undeniable, haunting the experience like a specter drifting through the protagonist’s crumbling family estate.
The mention of graphics wasn’t incidental. The game makes a valiant effort to craft a distinctive visual identity with limited resources – and surprisingly succeeds. Its secret weapon is a “Painterly Effect,” a specialized post-processing filter that transforms the screen into what resembles an oil painting. This proves to be a clever workaround, effectively masking the limitations of low-poly 3D models and basic textures. However, this artistic choice comes at a cost: prolonged play sessions can strain the eyes.
Fortunately, the effect can be disabled in the settings – a merciful concession that likely saved many players from abandoning the demo altogether.
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The Necromancer’s Tale promises a sophisticated reputation system where every choice matters—not just dialogue selections, but even mundane actions like openly carrying weapons in cities will impact your standing with locals. While the demo offers only glimpses of this system in action, the potential is undeniably intriguing, hinting at the ambitious scope planned for the full release.
Combat, on the other hand, adopts a more conventional turn-based approach with action points and familiar RPG mechanics. The demo showcases this through a dungeon-crawler segment, though in its current state, the system feels unpolished and riddled with bugs. These problems will likely be smoothed out in future patches, but for now, temper your expectations.
Despite its rough edges, the demo version of The Necromancer’s Tale reveals genuine potential. The captivating narrative and rich worldbuilding already shine as the game’s strongest assets—elements that will likely hook players and carry them through to the finale. With the release date set for July 2025, the developers clearly have significant work ahead. Yet if they rise to the challenge, we may soon see this game in a new light, its remarkable roleplaying depth and distinctive aesthetics winning over audiences.
